Vehicle Closure Positioning for Directional Exterior Audio
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle audio systems struggle to effectively direct sound output to specific positions outside the vehicle, particularly when considering the dynamic positioning of closures like doors and windows, which affects sound propagation.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system that utilizes position mapping to control speaker power levels and closure positions to direct sound output to desired locations based on user positions, using sensors and controllers to track users and manipulate closures for optimized sound delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If vehicle closures (doors, windows) are positioned in intermediate positions between open and closed, then sound can be directed to specific positions outside the vehicle, but the system complexity increases due to the need for position mapping and coordinated control of multiple closures and speakers
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-characterizes the vehicle by creating a position mapping that stores information about how each closure position affects sound propagation from each speaker. This preliminary characterization allows the system to quickly query and apply pre-determined settings rather than calculating them in real-time, reducing computational complexity while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts closure positions and speaker power levels based on the user's location. The controller receives user position data, queries the position mapping, and actuates closures to intermediate positions between open and closed to optimize sound direction, making the system adaptive rather than static.
2Ease of operation
If multiple closures are positioned to direct sound to specific user locations, then audio delivery is optimized for personalized listening, but the control system complexity increases due to coordinated manipulation of multiple actuators
Solution Approach 1:
The position mapping is pre-computed and stored, containing the relationship between user positions, closure positions, and speaker power levels. When a user location is detected, the system simply queries this pre-computed mapping to determine the optimal settings, avoiding complex real-time calculations and simplifying the control logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to detect user position and provides feedback to the controller, which then adjusts closure positions and speaker power levels accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures the system responds dynamically to user location while maintaining optimized audio delivery.
3Measurement precision
If the system uses pre-characterization and position mapping to control speaker power levels and closure positions, then sound can be accurately directed to users, but the computational requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs sound propagation characterization in advance and stores the results in a position mapping. During operation, it simply queries this pre-computed data based on user position, avoiding time-consuming real-time calculations while maintaining high positioning accuracy through the detailed pre-characterization.
Data Source
AI summary
Directional audio is provided to positions around the vehicle. A position mapping is stored defining information indicative of how each of a plurality of closures of a vehicle, in a plurality of positions, affects sound emanating from a plurality of speakers of the vehicle at different positions around the exterior of the vehicle. Respective locations of at least one user outside the vehicle are tracked. The position mapping is utilized to apply power levels to the plurality of speakers and positioning to the plurality of the closures to direct sound output from the speakers to the respective locations of the at least one user at a desired volume level.